Seòmar agus comataidhean

With sustained demand for the scheme and in the context of the real terms cuts to the Scottish Government’s capital funding – as well as drastic reductions in financial transactions – these changes were necessary to ensure that funding is best focused on interventions which directly decarbonise heat or reduce heat demand in existing homes and ensure the scheme stays within its available budget.

The New Build Heat Standard currently requires new homes and buildings with a building warrant applied on or after 01 April 2024 to install a clean heating system, such as a heat pump. As these systems are now required to be included in the design of a project, it is expected that self-builders take into account the cost of installing a clean heating system into their project budget.

An annual capital and financial transactions budget is allocated to the Heat in Buildings programme, which covers a range of funding programmes. The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme is allocated an element of this budget.

The HES Grant and Loan Scheme budget is agreed annually and investment for 2024-25 remains subject to final accountable officer sign off.

The Deposit Return Scheme requires all drinks producers to register with SEPA before their products may be sold in Scotland. There are no exemptions for producers under the scheme. Data on producer registration is held by SEPA.

As an industry-run scheme, data on individual product lines were held by the private sector scheme administrator.

Producers may choose to register product lines with less than 5000 units placed on the market each year as a ‘Low Volume Product’. Producers of Low Volume Products must still register and report the number of products placed on the market, but products will be exempt from the requirement to apply deposits.

The Scottish Government recognises that solar power has an important role to play in decarbonising our energy supply and supporting a just transition to net zero, however, we cannot meet our climate targets without ending the use of polluting heating systems in our buildings and moving to clean heat alternatives.

With sustained demand for the scheme and in the context of the real terms cuts to the Scottish Government’s capital funding – as well as drastic reductions in financial transactions – these changes were necessary to ensure that funding is best focused on interventions which directly decarbonise heat or reduce heat demand and ensure the scheme stays within its available budget.

Following recommendation from the Deans of the Scottish Dental Schools, with respect to competence and confidence of pandemic-affected students, undergraduates and vocational trainees in the system during the pandemic were required to repeat the 2020-21 academic year. The Scottish Government has been clear that it could take up to five years for repercussions to fully resolve, however vocational training has now resumed in full and dental school outputs are back to pre-pandemic levels.

Despite this interruption, the Scottish Government has maintained a strong track record in growing the NHS dental workforce in Scotland, with 57 dentists per 100,000 of the population, compared to 42 in England and 46 in Wales.

NHS Education for Scotland statistics published on 4 June 2024 also show an improving picture in workforce numbers, with the number of ‘high street’ NHS dentists from the period March 2023 to March 2024 increasing by almost 5%.

The longer term trend is also positive - these figures show the number of ‘high street’ NHS dentists has increased by 28% from the period March 2007 to March 2024.

The Scottish Government is continuing to work on a range of initiatives to bolster the NHS dental workforce through consideration of both domestic and international pipelines, as well as of the shape and structure of the workforce required into the future. This work includes collaboration with its counterparts across the UK and devolved governments to improve workforce pathways for international dentists, in addition to harnessing skill mix to improve capacity within dental teams.

We recognise the pioneering research and private investment in Web 3.0 technologies across Scotland. Nevertheless, our focus in applying digital technologies for Public Service Reform is based on an understanding of end-to-end services and user needs, rather than committing to use particular technologies.

We invest expert staff time in continuing to advise and support Scottish Enterprise’s work coordinating private sector activity on Web 3.0 technologies, through its Digital Trust Scotland - Blockchain Taskforce. The work of Scottish Enterprise produced a report in May 2023, Blockchain In Scotland Landscape Overview , which demonstrates the comprehensive engagement we have through this Taskforce. Hence, through involvement in the Taskforce, we would expect to have opportunity to provide more support where there are gaps identified that clearly lead to economic impacts.

Scottish Government's CivTech Programme, has invested in diverse technologies that include Web 3.0, and has attracted over 90% of its participants from innovative start ups and SMEs, many of whom have gone on to set up Scottish bases. The Scottish Government has also provided funding support to the Scottish GovTech Cluster, which aims to support collaboration within the technology sector focused on connecting government agencies, businesses, researchers, academia and all other groups and individuals wishing to use technology (including Web 3.0) to improve and transform public services. The Scottish GovTech Cluster are working to attract investment both from within Scotland and from outside the country matching businesses and researchers with funding opportunities and provide support to help them secure investment.

We recognise that one potential private investment channel available for Web 3.0 companies is digital assets - for example cryptographic utility tokens. Our Financial Services/FinTech team are currently addressing related policy questions around Digital Assets in Scots Private Law. We would expect this work give Web 3.0 businesses in Scotland more legal clarity about such funding mechanisms.

Scotland’s Heat in Buildings Strategy, published in October 2021, outlines our ambitious programme that reflects the scale and the size of the challenge to reduce emissions from our buildings. Our commitment to allocate at least £1.8bn over this parliament will help kick-start growth in the market and support those least able to pay. This includes:

? At least £465m to support those least able to pay, delivered through our Warmer Homes Scotland and Area Based schemes.

? £300m for Scotland’s Heat Network Fund.

? £200m Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund, investing in a sector already leading the way in the heat transition.

? £200m Scottish Green Public Sector Estate Scheme, supporting leadership for energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation right across the public sector.

Of the £1.8bn allocated as part of the strategy, over £1.3bn has been allocated through the budget setting process, of which, over £500m has been spent to the end of May 2024.

As stated previously in answer to S6W-28153 on 25 June 2024, there has been an expansion of 68 posts in Clinical Radiology specialty training since 2014. Clinical Radiology is a competitive specialty which has historically filled at 100%. The 2025 expansion process is currently underway and will conclude later this year. This will consider the need for expansion in all medical specialties, including clinical radiology and clinical oncology, with the overall aim of ensuring Scotland has a sufficient supply of trained doctors coming through the system to meet anticipated future demand .

An Oncology Task and Finish Group was established in May 2024 to improve access to safe, quality oncology services by planning, on a population basis across Scotland, a safe and sustainable operating model for NHS Scotland Oncology Services .

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

The Scottish Government, in collaboration with Cancer Research UK, provides funding for the Adult Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMC's) in both Edinburgh and Glasgow, and a Paediatric ECMC in Glasgow. These form part of a UK-wide ECMC Network. Home | ECMC (ecmcnetwork.org.uk) .

The Glasgow ECMC has developed and implemented a strategy to increase engagement with the Teenage and Young People with Cancer patient group (defined in NHS Scotland as those between ages 16-25) and improve access to Clinical Trials. In collaboration with the Teenage Cancer Trust they set up a workshop with the Scottish Youth Advisory Forum to discuss young people's views on equity of access to clinical trials, and the communication of clinical trial patient information to young people. The ECMC will continue to work with the Scottish Youth Advisory Forum to address issues that were identified during the workshop.

To improve trial access and recruitment of children and young people the UK-wide Paediatric ECMC network has developed 4 Regional networks. The Glasgow Paediatric ECMC leads the Northern network and hosts weekly Regional Relapse Discussion Panel (RRDP) meetings. All Scottish Principle Treatment Centres (PTC) (Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen) together with Belfast and Newcastle participate in these meetings. This aim of this network is to broaden the portfolio of studies for solid tumours and leukaemia - thereby maximising the opportunity for patients in any given centre to participate in a clinical trial.

On 13th February 2023 we published an Independent Report on Improving Equity of Access to Cancer Clinical Trials.

Improving equity of access to cancer clinical trials in Scotland - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) We are working closely with the cancer research community here to develop plans for the implementation of the report’s key recommendations and have established an implementation board chaired by Professor David Cameron from the University of Edinburgh to oversee this work.

a) The Scottish Government recognises the need for active measures to improve retention across the health and social care workforce, which is essential to ensure confidence in longer-term modelling of a sustainable future medical workforce to meet future clinical service demand.

Retiring employees who wish to continue in employment that is suitable to them and the service are supported by the Retire and return provisions in the NHSScotland Retirement Policy . In addition, the NHSScotland Flexible work location policy and NHSScotland Flexible work pattern policy provide staff with a range of flexible working options to help them to balance their lifestyle whilst maintaining and promoting the best possible service to our patients and service users. We will continue to consider ways to increase staff retention alongside health boards.

b) As stated previously in answer to S6W-28159 on 25 June 2024, The Chief Medical Officer met with the Royal College of Radiologists on 14 December 2023 and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer met with them on 16 May 2024.

We will continue to engage with them through their representation on the Oncology Task and Finish group that is developing a sustainable operating model for NHS Scotland oncology.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .